Vil­lage with an am­bi­tion for growth

Townmaking in nature

The town of Årslev/Sdr.Nærå of 3.700 citizens is experiencing a remarkable 20 percent growth in the last decade, which is uncommon for rural Danish towns. The town has a strong community and it is surrounded by nature. The ambition is clear for the town and it wants to attract another 1.200 residents or 10 percent before 2030. This is the reason why the municipality of Faaborg-Midtfyn launched two competitions in 2018. Vandkunsten won one of them with a clear concept for developing a town and creating an identity, which balances between urbanity and nature. Embracing the open landscape, the main idea is to let the town grow in urban islands in surrounded by nature. This is possible because the density of the neighborhood clusters is high. The major benefit is the direct access to nature by basically all units. Inspired by the masterplan laytout of the numerous manors in the region, each cluster will be developed with urban typologies such as a local square and passageways. Each cluster has its architectural identity from the local landscape, such as the Hill, the Stream, and the Woods.

Landscape ties everything together

‘Among the remarkable qualities of the proposal is the use of the unique surrounding landscape to tie the new district and the existing town together. The landscape spaces become a new narrative of the area, and the shared joy of living in the middle of beautiful surroundings will benefit new as well as existing residents of the town of Årslev/Sdr.Nærå'
- from the competition jury

Green strategy

Building with high density offers the opportunity to draw large wedges of the open landscape deep between the new urban clusters, and direct access to nature and neighborhood for everyone. Rows of windbreak vegetation connect with the open landscape.

Robust concept

The cluster strategy is robust for the longterm development of the masterplan. When built, each cluster can stand alone both from an architectural and landscape point of view.